NAMED: The major players watching closely over their shoulders

A BULLET has long been a professional hazard in the crime business.

But with a major fault line developing in gangland and several new players attempting to expand their empires in the black economy, the potential for violence in 2016 looms larger than ever.

Fears for those 20 names on the mob’s hitlist, read the full story here

Gardaí and underworld sources know it is not a matter of if, but when, the next hit happens – with several already at the planning stages.

Here are the key underworld figures watching closely over their shoulders as the new year dawns...

Daniel and Christopher Kinahan

The brothers would be prime targets if the Hutch faction go to war. However, they are constantly surrounded by security and are driven everywhere by a number of key associates.

The brothers are also trained in counter surveillance and will be extra cautious of any public appearances over the coming months.

Daniel Kinahan’s lawyer told a Spanish court last year that he lives in fear and needs police protection.

Liam Roe

Perma-tanned gangster Liam Roe escaped with his life after a botched assassination attempt by an associate of murdered Gary Hutch at the Red Cow Inn in Dublin last November.

The first cousin of ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson is a heavy smoker and had stepped outside the venue for a fag when he was randomly targeted.

He is a first cousin of Thompson and the Byrne Brothers. He was believed to be the first man spotted in a shoot on sight campaign against the Kinahans by Dublin criminals.

David and Liam Byrne

Liam Byrne

The Byrne brothers of Raleigh Square are at the very top of the Kinahan chain in Ireland because of the millions they are making transporting drugs from Spain.

It is understood that they are also hugely successful at laundering money through the used car industry and their key contacts in
Birmingham.

Liam (left) and David drive high-end cars and regularly change their motors, but they stand out on the streets of Dublin and are disliked and mistrusted within their own mob. Both would be key targets in any drug war because of their importance in the Kinahan money machine.

Paul Rice

Feared underworld enforcer Rice has been worried for his own life since his best pal Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh and his brother Paul were murdered last year in hits ordered by the Kinahan cartel.

While Rice was spared in the bust-up over missing cash, he left his home in Tallaght and lay low for months until he felt it was safe to return to Dublin.

Since then he has been on a mission to root out a traitor in the Kinahan camp. He has made serious accusations against senior Kinahan associates and believes they are acting as double agents, but has yet to come up with any proof.

Now that a war is on the cards, he is afraid that his own comrades may look for an opportunity to take him out and conveniently blame it on the Hutch faction.

Gary Finnegan

Kinahan henchman Gary Finnegan is believed to be lying low in the Wicklow area as he fears for his life from Hutch associates and members of his own mob, who may use the opportunity of a drugs war to remove him completely from the payroll.

Finnegan’s popularity as the Kinahans top man in Dublin has waned, as the Byrne brothers have taken his place.

‘The Gym Boss’

This senior Kinahan lieutenant would be a prime target for Hutch associates as he is a very close associate and friend of both Daniel and Christopher Jnr. He faces similar problems as Finnegan and Rice and will have to watch his back from both sides.

‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson

The overweight drug boss has fled the country with a teenager accused of the brutal murder of Lorcan O’Reilly last Halloween night. The mobster has been living on borrowed time for years and has escaped countless attempts on his life.

While he may not be the easiest target for a hit, the Kinahans may take the opportunity to rid themselves of Freddie once and for all.

Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch

Taking out a family Don is a major tactic in gangland wars to ‘remove the head from the snake’.

While there have been reports that Hutch survived a possible assassination attempt in Lanzarote over the New Year, sources close to the veteran criminal completely deny that such an incident occurred.

Hutch is believed to have moved his family as he tries to manoeuver them away from a gun feud which he does not want any part in.

It is understood he may try to reach out to Kinahan cartel elders John Cunningham and Christy Kinahan Snr in order to avert bloodshed and come to a deal. However, his name alone now makes him a target again.

Patsy Hutch

The father of Gary Hutch is not involved in organised crime, but he has been visited on two occasions by representatives of the Kinahan cartel demanding huge amounts of money that he does not have.

He would be an unlikely target for a hitman, but sources say that the Kinahans are regularly breaking new ground and all the old rules of the underworld have gone out the window.

Derek ‘Del Boy’ Hutch

Convicted killer ‘Del Boy’ Hutch has survived two attempts on his life behind bars in recent months. He has been moved to
Wheatfield prison from Mountjoy for his safety.

A brother of murdered Gary Hutch and nephew of the Monk, he has been top of the Kinahan list for revenge, after accusations were levelled that information had been fed by him to the U.K. police.

The brutality of taking a second son from the same family is a new in gangland, but not for the Kinahan mob. Last year they murdered debt collector Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh and his brother Paul within months of one another over missing money.

The Hutch associate

A relative of Gary and Del Boy is suspected of involvement in previous Kinahan hits, including that of Paul Kavanagh.

However, since the murder of Gary he has firmly turned his back on his old associates and taken the side of his clan.

As an enemy he is a danger to the Kinahans and will be top of their target list.

John Gilligan

The former crime lord is running sacred between safe houses in Dublin, the U.K. and Spain after a botched hit forced him into exile last year.

Senior criminals still have a price so high on Gilligan that many of gangland’s professional hitmen would take him out on sight.